Automatic mechanism for draining water from tanks or the like



Sept. 21, 1943. R. c. CHURCHMAN ErAL 2,330,027

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FORYDRAINING WATER FROM TANKS OR THE LIKE Filed July 14. 1941 IN VENTORS Patentedvsept. 2l, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE l 2,330,021

WATER FROM TANKS B THE LIKE R.. Johnston,

Frank Des Moines, Iowa Application Jill! 14, 1941, Serial No. 402,286 I 2 Claims.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an automatic mechanism for draining water from tanks or the like that will automatically open at periodic intervals and permit any accumulation of water to be blown out of the tank to which the device is attached.

A further object of our invention is to provide an automatic valve which may be placed on a pressure tank and connectedto a suitable actuating means for bleeding the tank of accumulated liquid, and which may be adjusted for any desired period of operation, dependent upon the conditions and the rapidity of moisture accumulation within the pressure tank.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an automatic mechanism for draining water from tanks or the like that is economical in manugacture, durable and eilicient in use.

These' and other objects will be apparent to those skilled inthe art.

Our invention consists in the construction, ar-

rangement and combination of the various partsof the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in our claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a cross sectional view of a portion of a compressor tank or like with automatic bleeder mechanism attached thereto ready for use.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the upper end of our valve mechanism showing its use in conjunction with a diaphragm 'operated plunger.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the upper end of our valve with an electrically controlled valve plunger mechanism.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the valve mechanism of our device.

It is the common practice, at present, of hand bleeding the moisture content from the compressor tanks and the like at periodic intervals. This is generally accomplished by shutting down the operation of the compresser and removing the moisture or water accumulation by means of a petcock or blowing the water out through the medium of the air pressure within the tank. Generally, this is neglected until such time as the water within the tank impairs the eiilciency oi the compressor unit, Generally the operation of bleeding the tank is forgotten and damage to equipment results. We have overcome such disadvantages by providing an automatic means for removing moisture accumulations from a compressor tank or like as will be hereinafter set forth.

device which we will now describe. The a'valve housing having-an inlet M and an outlet I5 in communication with its inside bore. 'Ihe numeral I6 indicates a valve slidably mounted within the bore of the housing i3 and capable of blocking any flow of matter from the inlet Il to the outlet .I5 at times. The inlet Il is in communication with the bleeder pipe Il as shown in Fig. 1. Secured to the upper end of the valve I6 and within the housing I3 is a, piston or plunger member I 'I which is normally held in its upper position by a compression spring I8, thus holding the valve I 6 in a closed position when the mechanism oi' the valve is not functioning. I have used the numeral I 9 to designate a port in the side of the housing I 3 and below the upper rim of the plunger l1. The numeral I9' indicates an adjustable needle valve .capable of controlling the ow of air through the port I9 as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The numeral 20 designates an outlet port in communication with the needle valve seat I9'. 'I'he foregoing is the principal valve mechanism and this mechanism may be actuated by several means. In Fig. 1 of the drawing, a cap 2l is placed on the upper end oi' the housing I3 having in communication therewith and therethrough, a pipe 22 which is placed in communication with the unloader tank or buier 36 of the air compressor. As is well known, the compressor forces air into an unloader chamber until the pressure of the tank is reached, after which a check valve 31 is opened, permitting the air to go into the main tank I 0 when the desired pressure is reached within the tank I0 and the automatic switch of the ordinary compressor is opened, this unloader tank is openedY and permitted to blow oiI the accumulated air therein. We have utilized this wasted blow-off air from the unloader in providing one of the functioning means for our valve. This air is released into the housing I3, forcing the plunger l'l downwardly, thus opening the valve I6, permitting the pressure within thetank I0 to blow water from the bottom of the tan'lr through the bleeder pipe Il, the inlet Il, out through the outlet I5, from which it is conducted through a suitable conduit 23 to a point of disposal. By adjusting the needle valve I9. this operation may be shortened or lengthened, dependent upon the amount of moisture accumulating within the tank I0. Thus, every time the compressor is turned off or on the valve IB will be actuated and bleed a controlled amount of moisture from the tank I0.

Referring to Fig. 2 of the drawing, it will be noted that a disc or diaphragm type of actuating mechanism may be substituted for the cap 2|. The housing 24 is threaded into the upper end of the housing I3 and the diaphragm actuated plunger 25 will contact the valve push rod 26. A suitable source of pressure is .applied to the inlet 21 and the adjusting means 2| is adjusted ior -the pressure desired. When a certain predetermined amount of pressure has been applied to the diaphragm 25 within the housing 24, the plunger 25 will push downwardly on the push rod 26, thereby operating the valve IB. In this operation, the needle valve is unnecessary and is merely left open to prevent back pressure within the chamber. This particular arrangement is of benet when using the device as a safety valve for hot water tanks, boilers and the like and still permits the blow-ou" of excess pressure on the moisture accumulations and the like.

Referring to Fig. 3, it will be noted that we have used a modiiied form of structure for permitting the valve to be actuated electrically. A housing. 29 is threaded into the upper end of the valve chamber 3 and contains the electromagnets 3U which are electrically connected to the contact points 3| and 32. The numeral 33 indicates a plunger slidably mounted Within the housing 29 and having thereon a bar 34. The lower end of the plunger 33 contacts the push rod 26 and has on its upper end an adjusting screw and spring 35. By this means, the contact points 3| and 32 may be connected so as to cooperate with the automatic switch on .the compressor unit or like and whenever Ithe switch turns oi current will be admitted through the usual means to the electromagnets 30, thereby pushing down on the plunger 33 and push rod 26 for actuating the valve IB.

The practical operation of our device is as follows: Y

'I'he valve is secured to the tank and a bleeder pipe run to a point adjacent the bottom of the tank, and one of the three outlined mechanisms is secured to the upper end of the valve housing I3. When an unloader is used in-conjunction with the compressor tank, the method outlined in Fig. l is used, permitting the air to actuate the piston I1 and open the valve until the required amount of air from the unloader is bled out through the port I9 and outlet 20. This permits the moisture'accumulation from the bottom of the tank to pass through the restricted portion of the valve I6 and out through the pipe 23 every time the buier tank is unloaded. This time of operation is controlled by the needle valve I9' and the farther the needle valve I9' is opened, the shorter the period of operation of the valve. In actual use the conduit or pipe 22 is in communication with the valve 38 of the buffer tank 36.

With the mechanism outlined in Fig. 2, direct pressure is utilized for actuating the valve IS. Thus if the diaphragm and plunger, through the medium of the adjusting nut 28 and spring 28', is adjusted for a specific amount of pressure, the push rod 26 will be actuated by the diaphragm 25' when that pressure is exceeded, thus permitting an escape valve which will bleed the moisture out of the bottom of the tank when a certain pre-determined pressure within the tank is reached. On some types of compressing units, an unloader or buffer is not used, and in this event, the magnetic type of valve operating mechanism as shown in Fig. 3 is used in the manner as herebefore explained.

Thus it will be seen that we have provided an automatic mechanism for draining water from tanks or the like which fullls all of our objects and presents many more advantages. By utilizing our device, no attention to the bleeding of moisture from the tank is required, as this accumulation will be automatically disposed of with every operation of the compressing unit. 'I'he valve mechanism is fool-proof, can easily be adjusted for the correct amount of moisture expulsion desired, and is adaptable to all types of pressure tanks or pressure vessels.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of our improved automatic mechanism for draining water from tanks or the like without departing from the real spirit and purpose of our invention, and itis our intention to cover by our claims any modified forms of structure or useof mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included Within their scope. l

We claim: g

1. In combination with a compressor tank having an unloader tank, a valve on the unloader tank and a bleeder pipe within the storage tank of the compressor, an automatic means for bleeding moisture from the storage tank comprising, a housing, an inlet into said housing in communication with said bleeder pipe, an outlet in said housing, a balanced valve in said housing imposed between said inletand said outlet and at right angles'to said inlet and said outlet, a push rod on said valve, a piston inside said housing, an air pressure line having one end in communication with the inside of said housing above said piston and its other end `in communication with the valve of said unloader; said unloader forcing the air through said line and actuating said piston for opening said valve at times, a means for yieldingly holding said valve in a closed position, and a needle valve in said housing for permitting the air from said unloader to exhaust from said housing when said piston has actuated said valve.

2. In a device of the class described, an automatic means for bleeding moisture from a storage tank comprising, a housing', an inlet into said housing in communication with a bleeder pipe, an outlet in said housing diametrically opposite from said inlet, a balanced valve slideably mounted in said housing at right angles to said inlet and said outlet, a push rod on said valve, a piston inside said housing for' actuating said push rod, a pressure line having one end in communication with the inside of said housing above said piston and having its other end in communication with the unloader mechanism of a compressor, a means for yieldingly holding said valve in a position for closing said inlet and said outlet, and a means for limiting the opening and closing of said valve relative to the pressure on said piston.

RUSSELL C. CHURCHMAN. FRANK R. JOHNSTON, 

